May 2006

...This week we learn the story of Mat Schram, a close personal friend of Matt from Blackfive.
He gave his life in defense of this country on Memorial Day 2003. We
also paid a special tribute to Kevin’s father-in-law, a Marine and
Korean War veteran, who just passed away this week...

...Soldiers Angels founder
Patti Patton-Bader joined us on Memorial Day weekend to tell us about
her incredible organization and what we can do to support the troops
both here and abroad. We also got the perspective of Matt from Blackfive on what groups like Soldiers Angels mean to the troops...

Go f**k yourself you balding fat f**k. You have no idea what it means to be an American..s**t for brains.

The guy in the video is objectively pro child-murder. It's time to dust off an old epithet- BABYKILLER.

While I appreciate the complete ignorance it takes to conflate my call for a trial with support for slaughter, the previous toads pale in comparison with this creative genius.

Uncle J,

I see you have greeted the tedious malaise of fatness, balding and middle-age with a fallacious melange of none-too-critical thinking. Bravo you inspipid moron.

My Riposte:

Tedious malaise & fallacious melange,

Don't send me your rejected Cure lyrics or I will start making fun of you, and I figger you have already used up what qualifies as your ammo.

Cordially,

Uncle J

Then back at madison.com I gained a friend who managed 17 posts in the 8 hours since he registered, starting with a blow by blow restating of the Time article, which apparently is the highest form of fact in the universe, plus he takes a swipe at Matt.

I will note that your justification for the massacre has been republished on Blackfive.net, a so-called "milblog" that censors opposing comments. Censorship is an act of cowardice, as is your justification for murder and the personal attack on Rep. Murtha, who has done nothing but tell the truth. You should be ashamed, but something tells me that's not a realistic prospect.

At least he's bright enough to note I am unlikely to be shamed, and I really like the so-called "milblog" swipe, because renowned chickenhawk Matty O'Blackfive is the king of all poseurs. But my troll has more.

I've been asking myself why the marines called in the airstrikes that dropped the 500-pound bombs on some of the houses that night. The answer might lie in that phony press release issued the day after the massacre. Recall that it attributed some of the civilian deaths to the effects of the IAD.

Could it be that the airstrikes were called in for the purpose of obscuring the cause of the civilian deaths?

WHAT? Now he's even confusing me. The Marines dropped bombs to obscure the results of the massacre but missed? And then they issued a press release? And I guess he agrees it wasn't a massacre since the deaths are attributed to the Marines IAD or immediate action drill. Next he takes on one of the truth-based community who questioned whether we had to take Time's word as gospel.

TheNewGuy, were you at Guadalcanal? How do you know a battle took place? Were you at Pearl Harbor? How do you know it was attacked? Were you in New York? How do you know the WTC towers were hit? Then you really "know" nothing. Although your faith in Fox News (they've never gotten a story wrong) is noted.

Not that I don't enjoy pimp-slapping these clowns, I do I really do, but DAG they are out in force. Must be global warming I guess.

Disclaimer: If this turns out to have been an actual revenge massacre, then I hope all guilty rot in hell. I add this because apparently the overexposure to patchouli renders some unable to understand my position. I will shorten this to: If Massacre, Guilty Hang (IMGH) for convenience.

The following is my view of how the determination will be made as to whether this was a tragedy or a travesty. It could serve as a simple primer about when shooting civilians is sadly acceptable and when it is criminal. I will not discuss the possibility of a massacre because then all of these calculations are void and IMGH. I lay this out as it will likely form the basis for a defense to any charges that may come down.

These are some of the implications of shooting a non-combatant during immediate action and house-clearing operations.

Disclosure: I have never been to Iraq and have no direct knowledge of this incident or anyone involved. I do have extensive experience training teams in hostage rescue and close quarters battle (CQB) and have been on countless training and multiple live operations kicking doors in.

There is one and only one relevant standard for this whole incident and that is the reasonable belief that your life or the life of others is in danger. If that is reasonably believed then deadly force may be employed, absent that belief it may not. There are other factors that would impact this, like rules of engagement, but in this case the Marines ROE obviously included the right to return fire. The question is was there any, and if not why did they fire? If the Marines killed people without reasonable belief they were in danger, then they committed murder. If they had a reasonable belief in their danger, they did not.

Jon and Mark Geary and David "Robbo" Robertson, former Master Distller for the most excellent Macallan (almost convinced Mrs. Blackfive, err, MacScotchy, to name our daughter Macallan) started blending their own whiskeys. And Jon, Mark and Robbo have, of course, a blog.

Their best scotch appears to be called "The Smokey Peaty One" and is Islay in nature - which would probably make me, Tim Oren of Due Dilligence and Straight White Guy happy.

"The Smooth Sweeter One" might appeal to some - but I think it might be heresy. Being both Irish and Scottish has it's advantages (think enormous liver) but blending the two types into one whiskey doesn't sound appealing to me...

...Stephens said Autry had
left his job at the Jocks & Jills restaurant in Midtown and was
walking along Penn Avenue when a blue Cadillac pulled alongside and
three men, one armed with a shotgun, and the woman jumped from the car.

"This group had robbed two men on Piedmont earlier Monday night, taking a video camera and a cellphone," Stephens said.

"Autry takes off running, and they chase him. During the chase,
Autry's trying to get into his backpack to get a pocket knife, which
slows him down," Stephens said.

Grabbing the knife from his backpack, Autry managed to kick the
shotgun from the man's hands and stabbed the woman in the chest,
fatally wounding her. Stephens said. In the melee, Autry also stabbed
one of the male suspects. Another suspect attempted to shoot Autry with
a .380 pistol, which misfired, Stephens said.

The suspects ran back to the Cadillac and drove to Atlanta Medical
Center, where police arrested them. The young woman, "about two weeks
pregnant," was pronounced dead at the hospital, Stephens said. The
wounded suspect is in critical condition...

The following text was inspired by Commenters Jordan and Synova. This fictional speech is just something that I would hope a lawmaker and former-Marine like Jack Murtha would say about Haditha:

My name is Jack Murtha and I'm here to talk about the alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha.

Here in America, we have a system of justice with the precept that you are innocent until proven guilty. I fight for this system every day in the halls of congress.

As a Marine veteran, I fought for my country alongside of some of the best that America has to offer. I'm still a Marine at heart and I have confidence in the Marines' capability to investigate the allegations.

To Marines around the world, I give you my word - if these men are innocent, they will be cleared - and if they are guilty, they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Marines would expect no less from our fair system of justice.

As a key member of the House, I'm privy to more information about this alleged crime than most Americans. To the media, I will not allow you to use me for your anti-victory agenda. I didn't agree with the invasion of Iraq and I don't agree with the President's agenda, policy, or party about Iraq. I would like us to withdraw immediately.

However, I will not allow my words to be broadcast around the world to be used against us - to, in fact, recruit more terrorists or cause more Marine deaths. I will not allow my words to be used to undermine the good work of hundreds of thousands Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Sailors and Coastguardsmen.

Let us wait for the investigation to be completed. If the investigation produces enough evidence against Marines, then charges will be filed and a court martial will begin. We must let our justice system take it's course.

Let us show the world how our democracy works. After all, justice is what we want in the Middle East.

The good news is I've safely landed in Kabul. The somewhat bad news is
the UN flight to Kandahar is booked, so I will head down there on
Monday. But there is plenty to do in Kabul, and I've already dug around
a little bit about the violence in the city yesterday after a US
vehicle killed 1 to 3 Afghans during a traffic accident. The
consensus among the folks I spoke to is the protests after the accident
were staged by groups waiting for such an event to happen. I made the
comparison to the reaction by some Islamist groups in Afghanistan (and
elsewhere) after the Muhammad Cartoon riots, where the "spontaneous
protests" were anything but. There was agreement on this point. I will
likely post about this tonight or tomorrow.

I drove through the city twice today, and it is an interesting place.
The city is scarred from decades of combat, however you can see people
are working to rebuild. Shops are open, people and traffic are on
the streets, and there are signs of new construction and
rebuilding/repair projects. I saw several "land/title offices," as well
as signs for rooms for rent. Security is tight, and it seemed as if
police were on every corner, no doubt a reaction to yesterday's events.
Unfortunately my camera was packed away, but I'll get some shots
tomorrow.

“Day by day, fix your eyes upon the greatness
of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her; and when you are
impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been
acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it.” - Thucydides, The Funeral Speech for Pericles

...Soldiers are sick of apologizing for a sliver of malcontents who are
not at all representative of the new breed. But they are also sick of
being pitied. Our warriors are the hunters, not the hunted, and we
should celebrate them as we did in the past, for while our tastes have
changed, warfare — and the need to cultivate national guardians — has
not...

It's worth your time to read. Our guardians know their duty and have the courage to do it.

The bedrock of American justice is that all are innocent until proven guilty. Well John Murtha has repealed that protection for the Marines in Iraq and now serves as judge, jury and I guess executioner. He has foregone fairness and even decency in taking leaked information from an unfinished investigation and proclaiming not just guilt but a cover up.

This man has lost any claim on respect and has done irreparable harm to our efforts overseas and the safety of all our military. You are a swine Mr. Murtha and this shameful betrayal will forever be your legacy.

I have a look at the implications of shooting non-combatants that will be up tomorrow. In the meantime check Uncle J TV for a Murtha beatdown that somehow stayed PG-13. Although if this keeps up I feel an HBO- style F-bomb-a-thon coming on.

...Even more surprising is that this disappointing trend hasn’t ebbed
since the Long War began more than four years ago. Today the solemnity
once associated with this day should be closer to the surface. Our
nation is at war, which is to say our friends, family, and neighbors
are fighting. Some of them do not make it home. In recent years, too
many Americans have been personally touched by the sacrifice of
battle. But the unfortunate reality is that for most people, the war
remains a distant concept, something that happens on TV...

Busting Their Chops!

The Authors

Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com

Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net

Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.

In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com

Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.

McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net

Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.

Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.

The Authors Emeritus

Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View.Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com

Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.

Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.

COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.